Bank auctions off wrong house, Madras HC orders CBI probe

Suspecting a conspiracy and collusion among various government agencies, the Madras high court has now ordered a CBI probe, in a rare instance of the court asking the central agency to investigate such a caseA Subramani | TNN | January 11, 2016, 16:00 IST

CHENNAI: A bank auctioned and sold S Indira's sprawling house in Adyar and the buyer promptly demolished it 10 years ago -all without her knowledge or consent -over a bad bank loan her long-time tenant had taken.

Suspecting a conspiracy and collusion among various government agencies, the Madras high court has now ordered a CBI probe, in a rare instance of the court asking the central agency to investigate such a case. Indira's tenant V S Krishnan's company , Maha Krishna Financial Services, made the financial transaction with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency .

Acting on a report by detective agency Eagle Hunter Solutions, Delhi, which misreported that the tenant was the owner of the house, IREDA put it under the hammer through the Debts Recovery Tribunal. Lambasting everyone involved in the case, Justice A Selvam said,“The main contention of Indira is that with active conspiracy of the people concerned, the property has been attached, sold in public auction and subsequently , demolished. Simply because DRT has statutory protection, the court cannot close its eyes in a case like this without directing CBI to conduct an investigation. In fact, it is pathetic to note that the petitioner has lost her property for no mistake of hers.“

Indira purchased the house in Kasturba Nagar, Adyar, in 1974 and rented it to Krishnan around 30 years ago. For three years prior to the bank auctioning the property in 2003, her tenant had stopped paying her rent.

When she saw an auction notice pasted on the compound wall of her house, Indira sent a legal notice to the recovery of ficer of DRT-I in Delhi, explaining that she was the owner of the property and the proposed auction could not take place. In spite of her objection, IREDA auctioned the property .

Indira in 2006 filed a petition seeking CBI probe after police refused to register an FIR, stating that the case was a civil dispute.

Debunking the detective agency's report as “waste paper“, Justice Selvam on Thursday said the agency had given a slipshod report without verification of documents and merely on the basis of questioning some people. He also questioned why the authorities accepted the report and acted on it without any documents and due diligence.

Rejecting the submission, Justice Selvam directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry on charges in Indira's complaint and proceed against those concerned if sufficient evidence is available.